The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of Ofsted inspections of degree apprenticeships provision on teaching staff and professional services staff in English universities.
Drawing on 20 semi-structured interviews across 19 universities, the study uses thematic analysis informed by the Job demands-resources model, emotional labour (EL) theory and insights from institutional betrayal literature.
Participants reported high levels of inspection-related anxiety, limited access to inspection-related training and perceived institutional disinterest; pressures they managed through informal peer support and personal resilience. EL was directed not only outwardly toward inspectors but also inwardly, as staff shielded colleagues and masked distress. Leadership was often perceived to be absent or reactive, with meaningful support largely emerging from teams directly involved with apprenticeship provision. This study proposes institutional neglect as an emergent conceptual proposition describing a pattern of passive organisational disengagement that compounds emotional strain during predictable periods of institutional pressure. As the sector prepares for the expansion of the apprenticeships and skills provision under Skills England (Skills England, 2025) and the Growth and Skills Levy (Department for Education, 2024), universities must consistently embed their apprenticeship provision and inspection preparedness into their wider structure.
This paper addresses a gap in research on how Ofsted inspections affect higher education staff involved in apprenticeship provision and proposes institutional neglect as a potential lens for understanding passive organisational disengagement during inspection periods.
